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A kidney of a tip...
08/07/2006 21:42 - (SA)
Chicago - As tips go, Chicago limousine driver Abdul Faraj got a priceless one this week, when one of his regular customers offered up a kidney.
Faraj and Minnesota businessman, Dave Baker, underwent transplant surgeries at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
"He gave me part of his body. He saved my life," said Faraj, whose kidneys were failing despite a three-times-a-week dialysis regime.
Baker has used Faraj, a native of Lebanon, as his driver on trips to Chicago for several years.
Making small talk months ago, Baker learnt of Faraj's poor health and struggle to find a kidney donor with a matching blood type.
"At that time, he tells me, 'What's your blood type?' I tell him O-positive," said Faraj. "He said, 'I'm 0-positive. I'll give you one.'"
Baker was out of the hospital and expected to fully recover within weeks.
"This was an opportunity to stop, slow down, take a look around and try to help someone," said Baker.
- Reuters
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South Africa
